


We Stumble Into Our Lives

by mrfreddyjones



Series: Dark Blue [5]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Blood, Character Death, F/M, M/M, Nightmares, Suicide, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-04-30 22:14:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5181635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrfreddyjones/pseuds/mrfreddyjones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Len did realize, on some level, that he couldn’t just avoid his boyfriend’s father forever, but dammit, he’d try. Standing on the man’s living room, with a glass of ice-cold Coca Cola on his hands, however, he realized he was doing a piss-poor job at that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for blood, character death, suicide, violence.  
> Title from the song Something To Believe In by Aqualung

_Barry apartment was tiny, cramped even – the rooms were all smaller than Len was had realized, the walls shorter than he’d noticed, and it didn’t help that half-full boxes still littered the floor. He didn’t need to see them to know they were there, even if he didn’t know_ why _they were – after all, with Barry’s super-speed, they’d finished unpacking the day they moved._

_The apartment was also dimly lit, the too-yellow lights flickering over his head. Len didn’t remember going to bed, but he found himself in there, alone, cold sweat and damp covers. “Where’s Barry?” he wondered out loud, and his voiced sounded almost foreign to him. The clock by the bed was flashing in blood-red: MA 20:3. No, that wasn’t right. 3:02 AM. Len’s heart was pounding. “Something’s wrong”_

_“It’s okay,” he told himself, counting the seconds. 57, 58, 59, 60. 3:02 AM. He took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the clock. 01, 02, 03, his hands were shaking. 35, 36, 37, the clock was flashing faster now, but the time was still the same. 3:02 AM.  There was a sound, loud and distorted, and it took Len a minute – or what should’ve been a minute, if that clock would just fucking work – to realize the kids were crying. He didn’t remember having kids, but they were there, somewhere in the house, crying. Len stepped out of the bed, the floor cold beneath him, and he walked out of the room slowly, pins and needles on his feet and up his legs. “Barry?” He called, but there was no answer._

_The hallway just outside of their bedroom was long, longer than it could possibly be, and narrow, too. It seemed to stretch forever, on and on, no matter how much he walked, until there was finally a door. A closed door with light bleeding from underneath – but that wasn’t right. It didn’t look like any other door in the house. It looked like-_

_Len didn’t want to open it. He didn’t want to know what was inside, or who were those children who wouldn’t stop crying – his hands were moving on their own and all that he wanted to do was get back to bed, close his eyes and pretend he was somewhere else. His fingers gripped the doorknob firmly, his hands steady, but all the rest of him was shaking. He pushed the door open slowly, time moving too fast now, and still he knew it hadn’t moved at all. Nowhere, everywhere, always 3:02 AM. The bathtub was filled with water, overflowing, the red tint of blood creating rivers on the white floor tiles. He tried to look away, but he couldn’t._

_On the bathtub, Barry was looking right at him – right_ through _him. There was no light in his eyes; everything that made him_ Barry _was gone. He was empty. The children were no longer crying, but Len didn’t even realize it – they didn’t exist anymore. Nothing else did, just him, the blood, and the shell that used to be the man he loves. And then there was that voice – the one he’d tried so hard to forget. “You bastard!”_ _Lewis shouted, and Len turned around to find himself in the old house, the one they lived at when he was a kid. “This is_ your _fault! This is on you!”_

_He was small again, helpless, and Lewis was coming at him, red and angry and big and scary, his eyes bulged out, his steps like thunder on Len’s ears._

_“Len,” it was just a voice, calm and soothing, out of all the chaos._

_“Len”_

“Len, wake up”

He came to with a jolt, gasping for air. Barry’s hand sat delicately on his chest, the warm skin burning hot on his own. He could feel the tears coming up, his heart was pounding on his ears and it was next to impossible to breathe. “B-Barry-”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” the speedster whispered, leaning down to press a small kiss to Len’s forehead. “It was only a dream. I’m here, Len. You’re safe”

“Y-you-” he choked out, closing his eyes. His entire body was shaking, covered in cold sweat. “Y-you had-”

“I’m okay, Len,” Barry whispered, breathing gently against his scalp. “I’m safe, too. We’re together. We’re okay. Just breathe.”

 

* * *

 

Lewis is back.

Well, not back, not _really_. It isn’t _that_ Lewis. But after Zoom was defeated, The Rogues had time to stop and analyze the situation logically – there was a parallel universe, a mirror earth where everything was just the same but slightly different. They were tasked, by Amanda Waller, the one from their universe, with closing all but one breach before any other psycho decides to conquer both earths, and she would make sure the only breach left (the one at Star Labs) would be heavily monitored and that nobody could cross without their knowledge and permission.

Closing the breaches had been fairly easy, most of the work being done by Cisco, while the rest of The Rogues fought off any metas who came before the hero known as Vibe was done doing his thing. And of course, one of those psychos turned out to be Lewis.

Len thought he was dreaming. When the metahuman, with powers like Caitlin’s and clothes much like Len’s who went by the name of _Citizen Cold_ revealed his face, the hero thought he was going to be sick. He reached for Barry instinctively, seeking refuge and an anchor, something to keep him from falling apart.

Lewis seemed to recognize him, too, and his face went from simple anger to blind rage. “You little _bastard_ ” he growled, charging at Len, raising his hand, and Barry barely had time to drag his boyfriend away before Citizen Cold’s fist connects to the asphalt, turning to ice the ground where Len was just standing. Len is shaking, at a loss of words.

Barry is standing in front of him, holding on to his shoulders. _“Breathe,”_ the hero tells him. Lisa is elsewhere, with Iris, and Barry couldn’t be happier about that – he’s not sure she’d hold back from killing the bastard if she had a chance, not that he could blame her. All of the Rogues are elsewhere, spread throughout the city, handling the heavy influx of metahumans who decided to cross over when they realized the portals were being closed.

Lewis was glaring at them now, the wheels turning on his mind, eyes narrowing as it finally dawned on him. “ _You’re working with_ _The Flash_?”

Oh God.

A blast of ice is aimed at them, and Barry barely has time to get them out of the way again. “Even here you’re a disappointment! You’re _weak_ , you’ve _always_ been weak-” Lewis is shouting. Len’s knees seem to have stopped working, and Barry is struggling to keep both of them up. And then: “ _At least I get to kill you again_ ”

Barry blacked out.

It was kind of like when he was a child – one moment he was holding Len up, the next he was standing over Lewis Snart’s dead body, blood on his trembling hands. Len is looking at him with shock in his eyes, silently questioning, and Barry finds himself echoing words he’d never forget.

“He broke your heart. Only fair I break his.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait, but I've been sort-of-busy recently, and I haven't finished writing this story yet (but the sequel has been ready since saturday, so).

It was past overdue. Barry and Len had been out of prison for almost two full weeks when Joe officially invited them over, and even if everybody knew it was really Iris putting it all in motion, they were all grateful none the less. Joe and Len hadn’t talked to each other since that night with Zoom, and quite honestly, the former criminal had been dreading the day they would. He did realize, on some level, that he couldn’t just avoid his boyfriend’s father forever, but dammit, he’d try.

Standing on the man’s living room, with a glass of ice-cold _Coca Cola_ on his hands (“no, thank you, sir” he’d told Joe when the older man offered him a beer. “No alcohol for me.” He didn’t mention _why_ , didn’t go on about his father’s drinking problems, but from the glare Iris threw at her father, he knew. It was probably a test), however, he realized he was doing a piss-poor job at that. He was always aware of his surroundings, always watching. Caitlin, Mick, and Clarissa sat on the big couch, drinking white wine and talking about Stephen King’s _Firestarter_ , and Len doesn’t know if he’s more surprised to find that Mick is drinking white wine or voluntarily reading. On a secondary, smaller sofa, Cisco sits on Lisa’s lap, Iris by their side, and from what Len can tell, they’re discussing _superhero movies,_ while, in another corner, the two halves of Firestorm were comparing notes on the multiverse.

Joe comes back into the room, bringing beers for everyone and two Coca Colas – Barry isn’t drinking either, and even if he knows that Barry’s metabolism makes him immune to alcohol, Len still finds it to be a lovely gesture. “Lunch will be ready in a bit,” he announced, eyes lingering on Len for a moment before he turned to Iris. “Where’s Barry?”

 

* * *

 

“We need to talk”

Barry had approached Amanda Waller as soon as she got to the West residence. He was tired, and he looked the part. It’d been two days since Lewis, two nights filled with nightmares and guilt. They went upstairs, to Barry’s old room – it was still the same: the walls covered in posters of  _Simple Plan_ , _My Chemical Romance,_ _Thirty Seconds to Mars, Avril Lavigne,_ and _All Time Low_ , amongst others; Chemistry books resting on a tall bookcase, an old, bulgy TV in the corner and a computer desk with an old, white computer from the 90s. “Why do I feel like I just stepped into Earth-2’s _American Pie_ set?” She asked, a quirked eyebrow and a smirk playing on her lips. “I expected you to be more _Jimmy Neutron_ , Mr. Allen”

“You need a cold gun.” Barry said, instead of a reply, and her smirk was gone – her expression now cold, calculated.

“Why would I possibly need a cold gun, Mr. Allen?” She asked.

“It’s the easiest way to stop me,” Barry said, his fingers tapping against his legs nervously. “Len couldn’t do it, and even if he could, I can’t- I can’t ask this of him”

Amanda Waller stepped forward, eyes narrowed, and when she spoke her voice was strained. “Never give anyone this much power, Mr. Allen”

She seemed threatening. Barry’s first instinct was to step back, to put as much distance between them as possible. Instead, he told her the truth. “I killed Lewis Snart. I mean- The _other_ Lewis Snart. The one who died the other day.” He said, looking away, avoiding her eyes. “I didn’t _try_ to stop him, I didn’t try to _reason_ with him, I just- I just straight up murdered him. If I ever-”

When the speedster looked back at her, Amanda’s expression had softened, more so than he’d thought possible. She didn’t seem anything like the scary lady Oliver had described to him, the scary lady who visited him once on Iron Heights. “Allow me to tell you a story, Mr. Allen,” she said, her hand resting on Barry’s shoulder, so gently. “My first kill happened sixteen years ago. I was a child, fresh out of high school, when I was recruited. A man, a terrible man was holding an entire school in Hasaragua hostage, and my mission was to infiltrate the perimeter and take him down. But I…” she hesitates for a moment, and Barry realizes her voice is dripping with emotion. “I tried to _reason_ with him. I wanted to believe there was another way, that I wouldn’t have to _kill_ a man. And because of that he killed a little boy. Right in front of me.”

“I’m- so sorry” Barry shook his head, but she raised a hand to stop him.

“There are people in the world, Mr. Allen, who deal _only_ in extremes.  It would be naive to think anything less than _extreme measures_ will stop them.” She squeezed his shoulder, warm and gentle. “Mr. Snart froze in front of his worst nightmare, and, had you not done something, the two of you and God only knows how many others would be dead. You did what you had to do, Mr. Allen. Understand that, or the guilt will eat you alive.”

He nodded at her, not sure what to say next, and she made her way out of the room.

“Oh, and just so you know,” she said, turning back to look at him from the door with a smirk. “I’ve had a cold gun since your first week on the job”

 

* * *

 

They can barely fit everyone on the dinning room. Barry brings down a few chairs from upstairs, and one from the living room, and they all have to sort of crowd around the table, but they’ve all sit down to eat. Len is about to go for the food when Joe’s voice interrupts him.

“Let’s say grace”

Iris snorted, and Barry was about to say something – probably point out that they had never in their lives said grave before sharing a meal, from the incredulous look on Iris’ face. Not that Len could judge, his family hadn’t been on the habit of saying their graces either – when the lights flickered. For a split second, Len thought he was having another nightmare. The TV turned on by itself, and so did the radio, and pretty much every other device in the house.

_“Barry”_

The voice came from everywhere, static and distant. “ _Barry, can you hear me?_ ” The man – it was a man, that much he knew – seemed desperate. If everyone else didn’t seem just as distressed, Len would’ve guessed he was losing his mind. Len’s first reaction was to assess the situation: test the waters, find out how everyone else is reacting, find out how you’re supposed to react. Amanda Waller seemed to do the same thing, Lisa and the newest half of Firestorm just seemed confused, and Mick seemed to be feeling a mixture of fear and excitement (brought on from reading _Stephen King_ , no doubt). Everyone else had paled, as if they’d seen – well, _heard_ – a ghost.

“ _Barry, help me! I think- I think I’m in hell”_

“Is that-” the speedster began, but he didn’t have time to finish.

Iris didn’t let him. “Eddie”.

The lights got incredibly strong, and then they burned out entirely. Every electronic device turned itself back off, and silence hung over the entire table for almost a full minute.

“I’ll call Oliver,” Caitlin stood up, hand trembling as she reached for her phone.

“Absolutely not,” Amanda’s voice was firm when she spoke, decided.

“But Felicity said he’s got a friend-” Mick offered, but stopped talking as soon as Mrs. Waller glared at him.

“A friend who deals with the supernatural, yes, I’m aware of that,” she said, her voice controlled, pronouncing every salable. She was keeping her cool, and, for a second, Len saw himself on her.  “I am also aware there is absolutely nothing supernatural about this”

“How would you know?” Len asked, but it didn’t come off as insubordinate, or disrespectful. He genuinely wanted to know.

“I’ve seen the supernatural, and this-” she raised her hands, waving them around the room dismissively, signaling the burned up lights and the devices turning on by themselves. “This isn’t it. This is electrical, and magnetic, and interdimensional.”

“He did get sucked into a black hole,” Joe said, wrapping an arm around Iris’ shoulder.

“When he _died,_ ” the young journalist finally spoke up, her voice breaking down as the tears pooled in her eyes. “He’s _dead_ ”

“Clearly, he isn’t” Amanda said, simply. “Mr. Allen, Mr. Ramon, you’re coming with me”

“I’m coming, too” Len said, stepping up. He and Amanda exchanged a look. “Where Barry goes, I go” he said, and she nodded.

 

* * *

 

As it turns out, they were going to S.T.A.R Labs. “Mr. Thawne seems to be stuck in another dimension, which means the only way to him is through the breach” Amanda had told them, as they made their way to the S.T.A.R. Labs basement.

“But the breach leads to Earth Two,” Barry said, furrowing his brows.

“Yes. It also leads to every other universe there is.” She said, calmly. “This is a rupture on the fabric of reality itself, and it can lead _anywhere_ ”

“How?” Cisco asked

“If you adjust the frequency,” she responded. “And that’s where you come in”

 

* * *

 

Cisco could do that with his powers. He could alter the vibrations on the breach, pointing it in a whole different direction, and all he had to do was think of Eddie, and that direction would be wherever the hell Eddie was.

Which, as it turns out, might’ve actually been _hell_.

“You can’t go,” Amanda had told Len. “You’re _human_ Mr. Snart, and we have no idea if you can survive on the other side. Mr. Allen is capable of both healing at an amazing speed and being in and out within less than a minute – he’s the least likely to be injured”

So Barry had gone in by himself, into the breach and to a place which smelled like sulfur, with orange-fire skies and a blood-red moon. “Eddie,” he called, but there was no answer. “Eddie,” he tried again. The ground was simply dirt and rocks, and the wind was hot against his skin. And then, there was Lewis.

Lewis, standing in front of him, in the middle of this desert, with his chest torn open, blood dripping to the sand. _Drip. Drip. Drip._ Barry’s instincts kicked in, and he ran. He ran to the metahuman known as Citizen Cold, but he could never reach him. Lewis was always standing just out of his reach.

_“Don’t worry,”_ a woman’s voice said, coming from nowhere and everywhere, and seemed familiar to him. _“If there’s a way to get him back, I’m sure they’ll do it”_

It was Lisa.

_“Thank you,”_ another woman said, and Barry instantly recognized her as Iris. _“What is this?”_

_“Tea. Trust me, it’s very relaxing.”_

“They’re up there,” a man called, and Barry looked up to find Eddie standing where Lewis had moments before. Eddie, who pointed at the sky, where Barry saw, in a slightly red-tinted sepia tone, Iris drinking from a mug, with Lisa standing on one of her sides, and Joe on the other. He looked down again, and Eddie was still there – the same clothes from before, with the same bloodstain from when he was last seen – from before being sucked into the blackhole. “Are you real?”

“Yes,” Barry said, nodding, and in a flash, he was standing in front of Eddie. “I-I’m real. Are… you?”

Eddie was smiling, and tears were streaming down his face. “I knew you’d find me,” he said, wrapping his arms around the Scarlet Speedster. “You’re the hero, Barry”

 

* * *

 

When Barry came back, carrying Eddie Thawne on his arms less than a minute had passed. At least, less than a minute had passed on Earth. They’d been on the other side, (“an antimatter universe”, Professor Stein would later theorize), for an hour. That made Barry wonder how long Eddie was there before he was able to make contact. When they returned to the West house, Iris wrapped her arms around Eddie in the tightest of embraces, and nobody had said anything, until Caitlin finally questioned: “If Eddie is back then… why isn’t Eobard?”

A battery of exams would later reveal that a lot would’ve changed in the _50 years_ Eddie had been on the other side. For one, he hadn’t aged more than a few days (Professor Stein suggested time may pass differently on that universe, due to its gravity); for another, Eddie was now sterile. There was something different about his blood, Caitlin informed them after running a few tests of her own: his sample had contained something similar to the Speed Force, but entirely different.

Apparently that was the explanation for the blue flames he could now conjure and control. (And if Barry pretended not to listen to Mick’s _“Sweet”_ when Eddie demonstrated that power, he couldn’t exactly be blamed – he was under a lot of stress already).

“This, Mr. Snart,” Amanda Waller said, a cryptic smile playing on her lips. “Is what _supernatural_ looks like”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter turned out slightly longer than I expected. We got some backstory on Amanda Waller, her age on this story is 35.   
> Also, I don't think I've mentioned before, but this story is actually set next year - Barry and Len were in prison during christmas, poor kids.


	3. Chapter 3

Eddie Thawne left after a month. He’d spend some time recovering, and his recovery had been abnormally fast – not as fast as Barry’s, but fast, still. He told them of the things he’d seen on the other side: things that weren’t for him to see (Len would never say that out loud, but watching Barry go red as a tomato and choke on thin air as he wondered just how many of those things involved him and Len was _adorable_ ), things that gave him strength to keep going (and if Lisa cried when he said some of those were memories of him and Iris, Len would never mention it), and the beginning of the end.

The Thawne family, as it turned out, was originally from the African country Kor. They’d escaped in the beginning of the war, a few generations before Eddie had been born, and according to the blonde, things had only gotten worse. _“My people are dying,”_ Eddie had said, and Len had to respected the man for what he was doing. _“And now I have the power to protect them. You saw what I can do. How could I do nothing?”_ So Eddie left.

It wasn’tuntil a month later when the Rogues came across someone else from Kor.

 

* * *

 

TOGETHER WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS  
**OLIVER QUEEN**  
_AND_  
**FELICITY SMOAK** ****  
invite you to celebrate their  
MARRIAGE

10 – 31 – 2016

GRÜN CATHEDRAL  
1941, Weisinger Street  
Star City, California

Reception to follow

 

He read the paper carefully, the wheels turning in his head. _“Barry,”_ he called, “Oliver Queen and Watchtower are getting married.” Then, after a moment, with a smirk: “Sorry, I mean The Green Arrow and Felicity”

As a former villain, Len – not only him, but in fact, nearly half of the Rogues – was deprived of certain pieces of information. Barry trusted him, and so did the rest of their gallery of Rogue heroes, but not everyone had the same level of trust as the Scarlet Speedster. For an example, when, a couple weeks before Eddie left, a small portion of The Rogues – a group comprised of The Flash, Captain Cold, and Vibe – chased a metahuman down to Star City, the group of vigilantes were quick to offer their help, and even quicker to question Len’s presence, going out of their way to make it crystal clear they did not trust him: the codenames and the improvised mask for the woman they called _Watchtower_ , who seemed to be their Cisco (minus the metahuman powers) being a constant reminder. Tension filled the air between them, and it was obvious from the start that Captain Cold and the Green Arrow did not like each other, but they did put their differences behind for the greater good, and when, a week later, Team Arrow sent a small search party – Watchtower, The Green Arrow and the Black Canary – to Central City seeking a spell book, they did it again.

“ _What?_ ” Barry asked, standing in front of his boyfriend, wrapped in a towel and still dripping with soap – he’d flashed out of the bathroom at the man’s words, halfway through a shower. “Oliver isn’t- I don’t think he could- Why would you even think- He couldn’t-”

“Still so smooth, Allen” Len smirked, and Barry glared

“Who told you?”

“You, just now” Len let his smirk turn into a cocky grin. “Well, actually, your mail did. Your friend Felicity visited at the same time as Team Arrow, it wasn’t hard to figure out she was Watchtower, just as it wasn’t hard to figure out she was getting physical with the Green Arrow”

Barry groaned. “Do you realize I’d made it _years_ without this mental image?”

“Now I hear she’s getting married,” Len waved a dismissive hand, continuing as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “So either this Queen fellow is the Green Arrow, or the poor guy is in for one hell of a love triangle”

 

* * *

 

The wedding happened a month later. Barry took Len as his plus one, Cisco took Lisa, and Caitlin took Mick, and just like that, all the former criminals on the Rogues Gallery knew the secret identities of everyone on Team Arrow – not that it was _that_ hard to tell. The Hood/Arrow/Green Arrow always seemed to disappear at the same time as Oliver Queen, so anyone with access to CNN could tell they were the same person. Felicity Smoak, if her always appearing on Central City at the same time as Watchtower wasn’t clue enough, also did a piss-poor job at disguising her speech patterns. Cisco looked at Laurel the same way he did at the Canary, Diggle was the only other man in the group, and if he wasn’t the Arrow then he could only be the Spartan, and by process of elimination, Oliver’s sister, to whom her brother and Laurel kept referring as _Speedy,_ had to be the only other archer on the team, _Speedy_.

“Snart,” Oliver had approached him, a glass of champagne on his hand, a young woman with dark brown hair by his side. “You came.”

“Yes, I’m Barry’s plus one,” he said, sipping his own glass of Coca Cola. “If you promise not to tell _The Flash,_ I’ll keep quiet about you marrying the _Green Arrow’s_ girlfriend”

The young woman laughed at that.

“Snart, this is my sister,” Oliver began the introductions, choosing to ignore the joke (which Len would soon learn was something he did a lot), but the former criminal interrupted him.

“Speedy,” he said, offering a hand. “Not to be confused with _Speedy_ , the Green Arrow’s partner, I’m assuming. This-” he tipped his head to point at Lisa, who stood by his side with a glass of her own, drinking champagne. “Is my sister, Golden Glider, not to be confused with Captain Cold’s partner, _Golden Glider_.”

Thea laughed, and so did Lisa, but Lisa’s was a short chuckle, followed by an 1 _excuse me1_ , and soon she’d disappeared. Neither her or Cisco (or one of the guests from Oliver’s side) would be seen again until much later. The ceremony had been beautiful, Barry had cried, which came as a surprise to exactly no one, and so did the best man, John Diggle, which came as a surprise to apparently everyone. Felicity wore [a beautiful _Vera Wang_](http://www.verawang.com/EN/wedding/bridal-collection/iconic/2273-leisel-28), one of the perks of being the heir to Ray Palmer’s empire. They wrote their own vows, Oliver talking about his five years in hell and how coming back to her made him someone else, how it made him _something_ else, and in turn, Felicity talked about finding herself in him. It had been a truly beautiful moment. Their first dance had been to an [Ellie Goulding cover of Elton John’s ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9AFMVMl9qE)_[Your Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9AFMVMl9qE), _ and soon the couple was entertaining their guests.(“You were wrong,” Barry would tell Oliver later. “You told me, a long time ago, that guys like you and I don’t get the girl”. To which Oliver would reply with a cocky smirk playing on his lips. “Well, _you_ didn’t”). Everything was perfect. And then it wasn’t.

The doors blasted open with too much force, the entire atmosphere changing within seconds, and then there was _her_. A woman who must’ve been on her early 40s, she had tan skin and long, curly, black hair. Her eyes were dripping with venom, and with a purple flame similar to the one Eddie had shown them.

“Mr. Darhk regrets not being able to attend,” she said, her voice calm, almost pleasant. It was all the more disturbing. “He had a previous appointment, so he sent me instead.” The silence that reigned in the room made it quite clear that she wasn’t welcome. “My name is Antonia Allegro, and I am here to kill the bride”

Those words unleashed hell. Laurel, in a pretty dress, screamed loud enough to make the glasses shatter. Mr. Diggle and Lyla had guns, Oliver produced a bow and arrow out of thin air. Mick had his heat gun, and Len had his cold one. Barry was already running around the room, preparing to throw a lightning bolt, and then everything changed at once. With a wave of her hand, the woman, Allegro, was able to stop The Flash, making Barry stop dead on his tracks and fall to the ground. Firestorm and Heatwave combined attacks, but were both brought to their knees with simply a glare from her.

“Oh, you haven’t heard of me?” Allegro feigned surprise. “I can raise demons, and use them for-” Mick’s piercing scream interrupted her. Firestorm had separated, and Professor Stein now cried out for Clarissa. “Well, _that_.”

Len reached for his cold gun, the woman looked at him, and everything stopped. Everything changed.

It was dark, darker than it could possibly be. The night was pitch black, and he could barely see anything at all – but he could hear, and what he heard were screams. Pained, terrified screams. _Please,_ they’d say. _Please stop. I wasn’t-_. No, not they. Him.

Barry.

Len ran. He ran to the danger, to the noise, to _Barry_ , and then there was light. So much light, he couldn’t see anything, but he could still hear it when a bottle broke against the wall, when Barry _shrieked_ , scrambling away. The room came to focus again, slowly. “ _Bullshit!_ ” A voice shouted, slurred and angry, and it was him. “ _I saw how you were looking at him! Are you two fucking? Is that it?_ ”

He’d heard it before. Never like this, never in his voice, but he heard it before. He was moving, had no control over his legs as he walked over to where Barry was cornered, and then he hit him – he punched Barry. _“Answer me!_ ” he shouted. He'd become his father.

 

* * *

 

For Mick, hell was fire. The fire he loved so much, hating him, destroying him, consuming him. It wasn’t beautiful, it wasn’t _art_. It was just pain. For Firestorm, it was their loved ones dying because they weren’t enough. For Caitlin, it was Ronnie, but not him – his body, but with someone else inside. For Laurel, it was booze. For Lyla and Diggs, it was their daughter’s death. For Oliver, it was losing Thea. For Thea, it was becoming Malcolm Merlyn. For Iris, it was losing her father.

For Barry, it was Wells.

Standing in front of him, in that cursed yellow suit, a smug grin on his lips. Around them, everyone he’d ever known, everyone he’d ever loved. Joe, Iris, Cisco, Caitlin, Lisa- all dead. And on Wells’ hands, Len. “ _I’m sorry,_ ” he’d cry, looking into Len’s eyes. “ _I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough_ ”

And then Wells killed him.

 

* * *

 

Antonia stalked towards Felicity, her hands flaming. Everyone else was on the floor, twisting in pain, and the blonde took a step back, instinctively. She couldn’t fight like Oliver, or have powers like Barry. She didn’t even have a gun. “No weapons, no friends, no hope…” Antonia teased. Felicity reached for something, anything, and as soon as she found _something_ – a jar with flowers on it – she threw it at the intruder. Antonia waved her hand, and the jar burned to dust. She laughed, and Felicity fell back on the ground. She palmed blindly on the floor around herself, eyes fixed on the woman in front of her. She found an arrow, one of Oliver’s, and gripped it tightly, making one swift move to stab the woman, but Antonia easily avoided the attack – and with a flick of her finger she threw Felicity back, a flare of purple fire destroying the dress, envelloping the blonde. It didn't burn. “Take all that away and what’s left?”

Something clicked inside of Felicity. Her heart was drumming on her easr. Her mother was screaming, louder than everyone else, and she realized Donna could see everything – she wasn’t lost like everyone else, staring into nothingness and no doubt going through hell, and it hit Felicity that it was because, for Donna, watching her daughter die _was_ hell. Rage washed over her, her hands clenching into fists, and her eyes were suddenly glowing hot white. _“Me_ ”

Every light in the room flared and burned up. Every electronic device – phones, tablets, televisions – exploded around them. Antonia screamed, falling to her knees, and everyone else woke up at once. Antonia’s hands had come to her ears and she howled in pain until two small explosions were heard at last, and she fell to the ground – blood rushing out of the two holes where her ears should've been.

Her hearing aids had exploded, killing her instantly.

Felicity’s head was pounding when she came back to it, the moment feeling like it had lasted a lifetime, and within seconds Donna was kneeling next to her, her arms wrapped around her daughter. “I don’t know how you did that but thank God” the older Smoak woman whispered against Felicity’s scalp. “You just saved us all, honey”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genderswapped Anton! And changed their backstory considerably. In this story, she is from Kor, and is played by the fantastic [Melissa Ponzio](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mc7m38l1FS1rw36ld.gif). Her line to Felicity is a nod to the S02 finale of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.
> 
> Grün is German for Green, 1941 is the year the Green Arrow debuted on the story Green Arrow: Case of the Namesake Murders, and Weisinger comes from Mort Weisinger, the writer of that story. 
> 
> And Felicity has powers! _Whaaaat!_ She is a technopath, her powers had been dormant until she was attacked, and how she got those powers will be explained at a later date on a companion piece that also explains Caitlin's powers.


	4. Chapter 4

It felt like Christmas had arrived particularly early that year. There had been a whole new batch of metahumans – the third one in three years, this one caused by a ‘virus’ ( _“Of course_ it’s being called a _virus_ ,” Kimberly K., the public face of metahumans, political activist for metahuman rights, and the star of her own E! reality show, had said on a press conference earlier that year. “Because society thinks we’re sick. They see us as a disease, and I refuse to stand for that!”). – aliens were apparently a thing now, as were witches, and Star City apparently had a new Big Bad, making Len wonder if Team Arrow and The Rogues would _ever_ get together for something that didn’t involve saving the world. Oliver’s sister seemed to be a delight, and he was sure they’d be good friends if they could find time to talk between firing a cold gun and shooting arrows at criminals, and now, out of nowhere, it was Christmas already, even though it felt like Halloween had been a week before.

Not that Len was complaining. Christmas at the West home was amazing, or so Barry had told him.

 

* * *

 

**CHRISTMAS, 1984**

Christmas was bittersweet. At seven years old, the young Leonard Snart didn’t know that word, but he already knew the meaning. Every year, on that one night, there were lights and music and fancy food they didn’t get to eat all year – like turkey, and ham, and gingerbread. His mother would bake delicious cookies, and there were presents – that year, Len got a pressure gun, and Lisa got a doll. The night always began with music and laughter, but it always ended with tears and screams. It’d been Christmas when Leah told the young Leonard that he could be anything when he grew up – the boy had dreamed of becoming an astronaut back then. But it had also been on Christmas that Lewis first threw that bottle at Lisa. That one year in particular, it’d been different, though – like the calm before a storm, the night had been heavy with tension, everyone expecting the moment when Lewis would explode, but he didn’t. Not that night.

None of them knew it yet, but that was the last Christmas they spent as a family.

 

* * *

 

Christmas was a hassle. It’d always been a hassle, different levels of bad for different reasons throughout his life, but since he’d gone straight – well, not really _straight_ , but, you know, – it’d become complicated for a whole different reason. As a criminal, Len could just steal whatever he wanted – the _stealing_ part took care of the prices, having a gun made it so nobody would get in his way, and he only had two people in his life to get presents to. For criminal Len, Christmas shopping was as simple as robbing a jewelry store for Lisa and setting something on fire for Mick.

As a hero however, Len found out that Christmas shopping turned otherwise civilized people into savages. He’d seen an old woman literally punch a guy in the face over the last Playstation 5. Standing in the middle of the store with Caitlin, now, Christmas had just become even more complicated. Because, standing just in front of them, apparently freaked out over their staring, was Jay Garrick.

 

* * *

 

**CHRISTMAS, 1989**

After Leah’s death, the Snarts hadn’t celebrated Christmas again. Lewis was always drunk, always _furious_ , and Len and Lisa were always hiding, always trying to keep away from him. But when Len was 12 years old, Lewis surprised everyone by throwing a Christmas dinner. He’d invited _Uncle Tom_ , his wife Helen, and this waitress he'd been seeing. There had been no presents, or music, and even though money was ‘tight’ – had been for months, according to their father – he hired someone to bake their delicious meal, of which the children didn’t eat anything. Because it had been excruciatingly clear through the laughter and the seasonal joy that the party was not for the kids – Len and Lisa spent the entire night upstairs, pretending they didn’t exist.

At least he didn’t hit them that night, choosing instead to spend the rest of the night with the girl he’d brought home.

 

* * *

 

“You’re dead,” Caitlin had said, going pale, and Len wondered for a moment if she was going to ice out in front of everyone. “I- I saw you die”

Jay seemed confused. More than confused, he seemed _scared._ “I have _no idea_ what you’re talking about, but-”

“I’m sorry,” Len jumped in, cool and controlled, polite, perfectly diplomatic. “You just… look like someone we know. Come on, Caitlin,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, feeling the cold emanating from her. He’d be getting frostbite, no doubt. “Let’s go call Barry, yes?”

They did call Barry, and the rest of the Rogues, and they met up at STAR Labs, where she paced across the room, shaking. “I- I don’t- I don’t _understand_ ” she said, the entire room feeling cold enough that Len had brought back his parka. “He’s _dead_ ”

“Maybe he isn’t Jay?” Barry offered, almost awkwardly. “Oliver says the pit was destroyed,” he turned to Cisco, searching for any ideas. “And he wasn’t sucked by a black hole, so…”

“It was Jay,” Len said, hands shoved deep in his pockets, white smoke coming out of his mouth with every word. “I saw him, Barry. It was him.”

“Maybe it wasn’t,” Cisco spoke, from behind the desk, looking up from his computer for the first time in half an hour. “At least not _our_ Jay”

Lisa frowned. “The breaches were closed, Cisco,” she said, simply. “You closed them yourself.”

“I did, but our Jay wasn’t _our_ Jay” Cisco pointed out, a large smile on his lips.

“Jay was from Earth Two” Iris followed, from where she stood, buried under three coats. “So the man you saw today,” she turned to Caitlin

“Was Jay from Earth One” the red-head, whose hair had turned a platinum blonde by now, spoke.

 

* * *

 

**CHRISTMAS 1993**

It was their first Christmas with the Rorys.

The house was very simple, it didn’t actually belong to Mrs. Rory, but she’d lost her own house in the fire that claimed her husband ten years prior, and this house in the Glades had been empty for so long, she just moved in there. Money was always tight, she didn’t work – couldn’t leave the house – and everything was always too expensive. But on Christmas, none of that mattered.

On Christmas, Mick brought home a turkey – he didn’t say it outright, but Len knew he’d stolen it. Len brought home a ham, one he’d stolen, too. The young Lisa helped Mrs. Rory bake, and while there was no tree – they were expensive, and a fire hazard, and while Mick had grown to admire the power of the fire that took his father, his mother had despised it since the death of her husband. But dinner had been amazing, and everything was warm and so foreign to the two newest additions to their family, because of how _loving_ it all was. It was the first Christmas in their lives when they went the entire night without feeling like a burden.

 

* * *

 

Certain things happened every year around Christmas, like a tradition. Cisco would marathon Christmas movies, Joe made French Toast, and Team Flash, now The Rogues, fought against a Big Bad. They hadn’t had a Big Bad so far that year, and that had been a welcome break after Zoom, but apparently, it had also been a lie. Because  most of the things they’d had to deal with this year, practically all of the crime they’d seen, had been orchestrated by a chess master, a man known only as The Thinker.

And now The Thinker had Jay Garrick.

They were fighting at STAR Labs, because The Thinker wanted access to the breach, and since Jay was _dead_ , nobody thought of removing his biometric signature from the security system. Joe, Iris, Lisa, Mick, and Len all had their guns aimed, ready to shoot, but couldn’t – not while he had Jay as a human shield. Cisco and Caitlin were powered on, Firestorm was combined, and Barry was ready to run.

“You have a portal, a doorway to _any_ universe,” The Thinker spoke, condescending and annoyed. “And you just _don’t use it_? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“It’s dangerous,” Firestorm explained, an edge of anger in his voice.

“The first man who went through that was stuck in a hellish dimension for _fifty years_ ” Barry added.

“It’s a calculated risk,” The Thinker snorted, walking towards the breach, dragging Jay with him. “You just need to know how to use it. And you-” he turned to Cisco, “-knows”

“And why would I help you?” Cisco questioned, and the grip around Jay’s neck got tighter. There were no words, but there didn’t need to be – it was quite clear what would happen. “Alright! Alright! I’ll help you! Just let him go!”

“I’ll let him go when I get what I want,” The Thinker snarled. “Get me to Earth Zero”

There was a long moment of silence again. “What Earth Zero?” Caitlin asked, through gritted teeth.

The Thinker narrowed his eyes. “Do not play with me,” he said, squeezing Jay’s neck harder. “You know what I’m talking about. The Negative Universe.”

“Are you suggesting that there is a Minus World for _our_ world?” Len asked, slowly. It was a notion he’d thought about before, even going as far as discussing it with Professor Stein. The Antimatter world Barry and Eddie had described seemed like a glitched-out world, and while the thought of a minus world brought back some memories of Len’s early years – Mick had had a stolen NES, and the two of them used to spend _hours_ playing on the weekends, while Lisa lost herself on the books Len would steal for her – it was also terrifying.

“What’s a Minus World?” Barry asked, frowning, which prompted Cisco to glare at him for what felt like an eternity.

“Doesn’t dating a twink make you feel incredibly old?” The Thinker teased.

“It was a secret level on Super Mario Bros.” Mick offered, from where he stood on the other side of the room. “Didn’t the kid have videogames?” He asked, then, turning to glance at Joe

“He was more into Lara Croft,” the detective shrugged.

“Minus World,” Cisco cleared his throat, drawing Barry’s attention. “Was a glitch that doomed Mario to an infinite loop in a hellish dimension.”

“It was an underwater level,” Lisa offered, with a grin.

“Exactly” Cisco nodded enthusiastically, not noticing the way she held back a short laugh. “Plus, the entire thing is just bits and pieces from old levels all messed up and mashed together, like a bad acid trip” Everyone was looking at him now. “What? I experimented at college...”

Mick snorted at that.

“Um, you guys-” Jay spoke, his voice strained. “Can you reminisce some other time?”

“Wait-” Realization dawned on Barry. “That’s where Eddie was.”

“Eddie?” The Thinker raised an eyebrow.

“The man we mentioned earlier,” Len explained, maintaining his voice even. “The one who was in hell for 50 years”

“Why would you want to go there?” Barry asked, frowning. “I’ve been there, that place is awful”

“You’ve been to that entire universe?” The Thinker raised an eyebrow.

“No, but I’ve been to that universe, and it’s- It’s awful” He shook his head. 

"I highly doubt the  _entire universe_ is awful" The Thinker snorted. "And to answer your question: time moves at a different pace, stopping me from aging and making me functionally immortal,” he replied, “plus, the philosophical implications of an entirely new universe that mirrors our own in a distorted way down to a molecular level are astonishing.”

“That is all theoretical,” Firestorm warned

“And how _theoretical_ are you?”

“Alright!” Cisco spoke, finally, stepping forward, hands raised. “I’ll do it. If you let Jay go,” he glances at Caitlin, then at Iris. “You don’t need a _hostage_ , you just want to use our portal, nothing wrong with that, right guys?”

“I saw that. I let go of him and _Elsa_ freezes my ass, or _Diamondhead_ over there makes me into a _girl’s best friend_ ” The Thinker rolled his eyes. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“No,” Cisco says, very slowly. He sounds almost condescending. (“That was pretty hot,” Lisa would say, later. “The way you just stepped up with your _divine move_ and took control.” Len would groan and tell them to “get a room,” then his eyes would widen in horror as he realized what he’d just said, and he’d follow it with a “no, don’t. Ever.”) “I think you’re smart. Very smart. Like, Marilyn vos Savant smart.” He smirked. “I also think you’re distracted”

As if on cue, Mick fired his heat gun at the intruder, causing him to scream and let go of Jay, almost by reflex. Barry then sped in, pulling the alternate-Flash look-a-like from danger before any harm could actually come to him, and just like that, The Thinker’s wounds were soothed by the blast from Len’s cold gun. Not enough to kill the guy – not because of Barry’s _no killing unless absolutely necessary and only in self-defense_  rule, but because he didn’t want to. Not when he didn’t have to.

A second blast of ice hit the man, though, accompanied by a loud, pained scream. Caitlin, apparently, wanted to.

 

* * *

 

**CHRISTMAS 2015**

It wasn’t Len’s first Christmas in prison. Captain Cold was a seasoned criminal, after all. He’d done plenty of crime, and plenty of time, too – never as much as his victims would’ve hoped, he’d always seemed to escape or get a pretty good lawyer (then again, any lawyer could be a _pretty good lawyer_ with the right motivation, and Mick usually proved to be just enough motivation). It wasn’t even Len’s first Christmas in Iron Heights – his last Christmas with his father (and, as it would later turn out, his _last_ Christmas with his father) had been just two years prior, when he’d resisted the urge to shank the bastard. But this was different, of course. Because it was his first Christmas with Barry Allen.

“I got you something,” Barry had said, Flashing back into their shared cell. They’d been _roommates_ – Len wasn’t _stupid_ , Barry was as much a prisoner as Len was a metahuman – for a few weeks now, and in that time, The Flash had not only sneaked out of prison (if you call _walking out through the front door like you own the place_ sneaking out) and smuggled in random things – like fast-food, a hand-held videogame, and a fucking laptop. (“I need to check my email,” he’d said when Len glared at him). Now, Barry had a bag full of _something_.

After a moment of silence, Len finally asked: “What did you bring, Barry?”

Barry grinned. From the bag, the speedster took a series of Tupperware containers. “Mashed potatoes, ham, turkey – there’s not much of that, because turkey’s Joe’s favorite, – couple slices of pie, there’s some cookies, and French toast…” Len just watched, silently, as Barry removed an entire Christmas dinner from his bag, and then, finally, a small rectangle covered in wrapping paper. “And this… This is for you.”

Len tore through the packaging on his present. It was a book: Perry Moore’s _Hero_. Len looked down at the book, and then up at Barry for a moment, before dropping it on the bed and wrapping his arms around the speedster. He didn’t tell Barry about the first time he’d read that book, almost a decade ago, and how the book had touched him and spoken to him. “It, um, it helped me through a lot, when I was young- I mean, I am _young_ , but like-” Barry fumbled with his words, in a way that was becoming endearing to Len. “When I was in high school. I figured you could use the help, too.”

 

* * *

 

Their first Christmas together out of prison – Len’s first Christmas as a hero – was celebrated on Joe’s house, as was every other celebration that year. The detective had gotten himself a larger table, one that could now fit everyone – Iris on one end, Professor Stein and Clarissa by her left, Cisco and Lisa next to them, across from Barry and Len, Jax and his mother sitting between Iris and Barry, with Mick sitting by Len’s side and Caitlin sitting by Lisa’s, and, on the other end of the table, Joe. There were meant to be more people – Amanda Waller had declined the invitation (“I would love to, Mr. Allen, but I’ll be spending the holidays with my mother. Please, refrain from creating any black holes above Central City while I’m in the suburbs”), the entirety of Team Arrow had decided to stay in Star City, (“Trust me, I’d _love_ to spend Christmas with you guys,” Thea had told Len over the phone. “But Ollie and Felicity are hosting their first Christmas as a couple, and even Lyla is coming – which, you know, is a big deal, since Ollie kidnapped her last year.” Len laughed for a solid thirty seconds before he realized she wasn’t kidding), Jay Garrick had been invited, but nobody really expected him to come (“Look, no offense, but- you guys are _crazy_!” He’d told the two Rogues on his doorstep. On his defense, the two Rogues in question _were_ Mick and Caitlin. “The last time I talked to one of you, I got kidnapped by some psycho who’d been running crime in Central City for _months_ without even having any super powers”), and the same went for Eddie (“It’s a lovely sentiment, really, but-” there were bullets ringing on the background of the call. “I’m kind of in the middle of a war right now. I can’t just take a couple days off. I really miss you guys, though”). Even Hartley Rathaway, who’d helped the Rogues defuse a hostage situation gone bad from the inside the week after Thanksgiving, had been invited (“I’ll have to pass,” he told Len, when the hero had come to him at the soup kitchen Hartley volunteered at. “I don’t exactly have the best history with The Flash and his friends.” Len’s reply, of course, had been: “neither did I”).

But even though half of the guests hadn’t shown up, the night was still filled with laughter and music, with warmth and a strong sense of _family_. It’d taken some time, but Joe had finally warmed up to him – to all of them, really. They exchanged presents, talked about the crazy year they’d had, talked about big things and small things and everything in between – Joe had a girlfriend whom he refused to name, the Rogue Book Club, as Cisco had begun to call it, had started on The Da Vinci Code, and Iris had talked to her boss, and would be doing her work for the Central City Picture News online in the near future – as well as taking a leave of absence from The Rogues, but she refused to explain why yet. “Let’s talk about it after New Year’s,” she’d told everyone.

It was three AM when Barry and Len made it back home, carrying bags of Tupperware containers filled with left-overs, and their presents: Amongst other things, Len had gotten an improved cold gun from Cisco, and Barry had gotten an actual NES from Mick – in mint condition, too. They showered, put the containers in the fridge – they’d be eating leftover Christmas for at least a week, no doubt – and changed into their pajamas, an actual matching pair they’d gotten from Iris and Lisa: Len’s looked like The Flash’s uniform, and Barry’s looked like Captain Cold’s. Because they lived in a world where merchandising of them was a thing.

“Before we go to sleep,” Len said, when they were finally set to go to bed – it was almost 4 AM by then. “There’s one more present for you,” he reached into his bedside table’s drawer, while Barry mimicked his movements on the other side of the bed. The two men exchanged glances for a moment, both retrieving small boxes, and they finally exchanged them. They both opened at the same time, too.

Inside of Barry’s box, Len found a necklace, from which a ring hung – not a wedding ring, just a regular ring. A woman’s ring. “It was my mother’s,” the younger man told him. “I… I wore it every day, to remind me what I was fighting for. To remind me of what was really important. But… I’m fighting for something else now, and, well…” Len just smiled, holding the necklace on his hand. Barry didn’t need to say anything more – Len understood it more than he could say.

Inside of Len’s box, Barry found a picture, an old Polaroid, of a woman with dark skin and beautiful eyes, holding in her arms two children – a young boy, with a missing tooth and messy hair, and a young girl, with pigtails and a golden-yellow dress. They’re all smiling. “That’s my mom,” Len told him. “And Lisa, and I. It’s- It’s my favorite photo of us. From our last Christmas.” He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t have to, either. Barry just smiled, and whispered: “thank you.”

That night, as they both fell asleep on each other’s arms, Len and Barry were truly happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly K. is a reference to Kim Kardashian, yes. Kim Kardashian is also Kimberly K.'s face-claim. For those of you who are interested, her power is invisibility, and I find it quite poetic that she refuses to be invisible in the fight for Metahuman Rights. 
> 
> And The Thinker's faceclaim is Michael Fassbender.


	5. Chapter 5

Iris invited everyone over to the West house on the first of February. She had some big announcement, what exactly was anybody’s guess – “She’s pregnant,” Mick offered, and was immediately glared at by literally everyone. “Maybe she’s going after Eddie?” Caitlin suggested, but Barry simply shook his head. “Nah, it’s something else”

The Rogues were all there, as were her father, and Linda – she’d been brought in on the secret identities of everyone slowly at first, and then all at once when she decided to confront The Flash on how shitty it was that he was stealing all of Barry Allen’s friends. “You can’t just _ask_ people to lie for you, asshole!” She’d told him. “Imagine how Barry will feel when he realize literally _everyone he knows_ has been lying to him all this time?!”, and while it was amusing to watch as the reporter went toe-to-toe with the metahuman, Len was actually touched to see Barry’s friend, who would later become a friend of his, too, standing up for the CSI – Barry couldn’t think of anyone else, but Iris still refused to give up the info until _everyone_ was there.

And then the doorbell rang, and for a moment everybody just stared at each other, silently counting the heads in the room. Len noticed how nervous Joe seemed, but didn’t say anything – if the detective wanted something said, he’d say it himself, surely. “Oh, great,” Iris said, a perky smile playing on her lips. “Sharon’s here”

Joe swallowed hard, Len and Barry exchanging a glance, and then there was a woman in the room. A tall, blonde woman, with shoulder-length hair and lines around her eyes, and a weak smile, one that visibly hid some deep sadness. She looks older than she is, someone who's dealt with a lot of hardship in life, no doubt, and it's very clearly taken its toll. She also seemed to be just as nervous as Joe.

“Who’s Sharon?” Barry asked, looking from the woman to Iris, and then back to the woman.

“She’s with me,” Joe announced, and Barry turned his head to look at his foster father so fast, it’s a miracle he didn’t snap his own neck.

Joe hadn’t dated anyone since… well, _ever_.

“Oh” Barry said, then. “Cool. Hey, cool. Nice to meet you,” he stepped up, offering a hand for the woman. “Miss Sharon…?”

“Quinzel” she replied, taking the speedster’s hand. Len’s eyes narrowed, and with a quick glance, he could tell Lisa had the same look on her face.

“Quinzell,” the Golgen Glider repeated, beating her brother to it. “As in _Harleen Quinzel?_ ” The woman was visibly taken back by the question, and could only nod in return. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable-” Lisa raised both hands, at the second-long glare she got from her now close friend Iris. “I used to rob banks, and so did those two, so no judging,” she nodded her head at her brother, and then Mick. “It’s just- I haven’t met her, but I used to really admire her work” she said, and was then glared at by Joe. “You know, before I gave up my life of crime… Len, help me out, come on-”

“You see now why I didn’t want to introduce you to my family,” Joe stepped closer to the woman, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “They’re a bunch of nutjobs”

They met at a support group. Back when Barry went undercover into Iron Heights, Joe took it harder than the speedster had expected, and Iris recommended a support group for parents of inmates. One thing led to the other, and Joe and Sharon had been dating for almost a year, in secret, like a couple of teenagers. Joe had stopped wearing his wedding ring months before, Len had noticed, but that went right over Barry’s head – apparently the speedster wasn’t as observant as his boyfriend. And, after almost two hours hanging out, Barry had come to really like this lady, this _Sharon Quinzel_. (“Christmas will be interesting,” Len would later tell Barry. “I wonder what it’ll be like to sit on a table with someone so… _opposite_ of me.” Barry would make a face and counter with “Come on, you used to be a criminal not so long ago,” to which Len would reply: “I don’t mean opposite because I’m a hero, Barry. I mean opposite because she’s chaos and improvisation. And also, because I hate clowns”. Barry would laugh and say, “you and me both,” although _hate_ wasn’t really the word he’d use – Barry had been terrified of clowns ever since he could remember).

And then, when it was finally time for dinner, Iris came forward with her announcement: she’d be taking an year to travel the world. “I’ve always wanted to,” she said, barely able to contain her excitement. “meet new people, visit new places, and now- Now I’m finally going to.”

Of all the people who heard the news, Mick was the most excited. The Rogue Book Club had been reading _Eat, Pray, Love_ , and he was genuinely so happy for Iris, Len had never seen him so happy, it was kind of disturbingly adorable.

 

* * *

Iris left a week later. And a week after that, the bodies started falling. Humans, the old kind, or so it seemed, at first – people were falling to the ground, coughing up blood, and dying, and there weren’t any metas involved, but their insides sure looked like there were. Some were liquefied, some frozen, some burned – there was a guy whose heart beat so fast it exploded.

Then the coroners started dying, too, and the police officers, people who’d had contact with the bodies, but only non-metahumans. It always started the same – fever, pain. Some survived, and the ones who did always developed powers, but many didn’t, and those died horrible deaths.

It was a virus.

Half of The Rogues, as well as the significant others and relatives of those who already had powers, were held up at STAR Labs, sealed from the chaos going on outside, while Barry, Caitlin, Cisco and Firestorm, joined by Hartley Rathaway – going by the name Pied Piper, – and Kimberly K., were outside, trying to figure out what was going on, and bring a stop to it. The damage, so far, seemed contained to Central City, and with a lot of interrogation, Cisco’s visions, and some help from Felicity, they were able to track down the source of the virus: LuthorCorp, the same company responsible for the gas that gave Static, Caitlin, and Felicity, their powers – the virus was simply a weaponized version of the gas, which was, in turn, an altered version of the metagene created by the Particle Accelerator explosion. Of course, _Lex Luthor_ wasn’t involved – not officially. He was the head of the company, but apparently, someone hadn’t told him about their plans to create metahumans left and right.

Barry called Amanda Waller, and she made sure the guilty part – that is, the part taking the fall for Lex Luthor – wouldn’t do something like that (or anything, really) ever again, and Kimberly brought the media, so now if someone would try to do something like that again, all eyes would turn to LuthorCorp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is considerably smaller than I originally wanted, but I was blocked. I've been trying to write more of it for the past week, but I just couldn't. Sorry. But we get a glimpse at a larger universe, and we finally find out where Felicity and Caitlin got their powers! Now, this may be the end of this story, but it's not the end of the series - there are a few companion pieces and spin-offs coming up, and then there's a sequel (because I don't know when to stop). 
> 
> Sharon's FC is Diane Keaton, and yay for Kimberly's return!
> 
> Personally I'm so here for a big West-Allen-Snart-Rory family, honestly, and Len and Barry only hate clowns because I'm projecting again (I do that sometimes).


End file.
